Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao.
Credit: DH Photo
Mangaluru: Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said the nominal revision in the user fee in the government hospitals is not a burden on the people.
The funds will remain in the hospitals and will be used for the hospital improvement of services by the Arogya Samiti headed by the local MLA. The revisions are done from time to time. There is no link between the fee and guarantee schemes, he said speaking to the reporters in Mangaluru on Thursday.
Dinesh Gundu Rao expressed his confidence in Congress party winning at least two of the three constituencies in bi-elections in the state. He meanwhile said that he wouldn't give much importance to the exit polls.
To another query, the minister stated that the Chief Minister and the minister of food and civil supplies have already clarified about scrapping only the ineligible BPL cards and confusions if there are any, will be rectified. Same thing applies to the Gruha Lakshmi scheme as well, he said.
“Poor people will not be affected”, he said and pointed out that even though the central government has scrapped 5.8 crore ration cards. Also, the NDA led Central Government has been cutting thousands of crores of funds to Karnataka, including that of Nabard sanctions and GST share of the state. But , the BJP leaders from the state including central ministers from Karnataka, Prahlad Joshi and others are tight-lipped and are acting as slaves of the central government. The Chief Minister has raised these issues with the central government.
“The BJP is making this an issue unnecessarily”, Dinesh Gundu Rao said.
He meanwhile alleged that the Enforcement Directorate has become an agency of the central government and has been used as a tool of intimidation for opposition leaders.
Terming the naxal activities to be a social menace, Dinesh Gundu Rao said that the naxals should come to the mainstream. The Home department will take suitable action towards the same, he said and recommended strict action against violent acts by naxals. When they retort to violence, the police and the anti-naxal forces take appropriate action like the recent encounter of naxalite Vikram Gowda, he added.